Praise for Human Agency in a Digital World

As someone responsible for building some of the largest cloud systems on the planet, I’ve seen firsthand how technology can feel like it’s racing ahead of us all. Human Agency in a Digital World is the antidote: Marcus Fontoura doesn’t just explain AI,quantum and cloud with clarity and wit - he hands you the keys and shows you how to drive. This book is a practical, empowering guide for anyone who wants to use technology as a tool (not a magic trick), and a timely reminder that it’s our human agency - our choices, curiosity, and values - that truly shape the future. In an age where AI headlines can make even the experts pause, Marcus gives everyone - from engineers to executives - the confidence and practical know-how to steer, not just spectate. Read it, enjoy it, and get ready to take the wheel.

With the rising importance of software and artificial intelligence in our world, it’s increasingly important for everybody to understand how this new technology works, to demystify algorithms, and to democratize understanding of computer systems. Marcus Fontoura’s Human Agency in a Digital World does a fantastic job of explaining complex concepts in simple terms, to make computer science topics approachable for anybody who would otherwise be intimidated to learn.

Marcus wrote a witty and creative book about how information systems and AI works. The use of examples and tales that people can easily relate to will help readers quickly build intuition in a broad sense, from what is possible and real with AI to its energy efficiency! This kind of intuition gives people agency in a world where information systems and AI affect every aspect of our lives. This book is a delight to read, and can only be written by someone like Marcus who actually deeply understands the space, makes factual claims, and doesn't get people lost in noise and hyperbole going around about AI.

As someone who has built real-world systems, from large-scale search engines to AI-driven healthcare platforms, I found Human Agency in a Digital World to be both timely and refreshingly grounded. The book argues that understanding technology is no longer a niche technical skill but a form of modern literacy, essential for navigating everything from algorithms to social infrastructure. What distinguishes this book is its lens: it frames computing not as magic, but as a vehicle for efficiency and human agency. It sidesteps both techno-optimism and fear-mongering, focusing instead on how digital systems, search, cloud, AI, even quantum computing, can augment human capabilities, but only if guided by intentional, values-driven choices. The taxonomy of physical systems, physically-backed myths, and digital-only myths is especially insightful, and is a mental model I now find myself using when evaluating both technologies and organizations. The writing is accessible, often witty, and never talks down. From the cautionary tale of NASA’s Mars Climate Orbiter to the absurdity of bogosort, the book distills technical depth into vivid, memorable stories. If anything, the breadth occasionally comes at the expense of depth in later chapters, but that tradeoff is purposeful. This isn’t a technical manual, it’s a call to understand enough to steer. For technologists, educators, policymakers, and curious citizens alike, Human Agency in a Digital World is not just a guide to the systems shaping our lives, it’s a reminder that those systems remain ours to shape.

Imagine a book where you learn how complex things work through stories, movie characters, books, and memories drawn from your own imaginary world. That book exists. Human Agency in a Digital World, by Marcus Fontoura, invites you on a journey where imagination meets insight, making the digital age feel personal, accessible, and alive. Tracing the evolution of digital technologies—from the earliest concepts of computing to the rise of artificial intelligence—this book helps readers understand that technology isn’t magic, but the product of human ingenuity. Behind every digital artifact are scientists, engineers, and creators whose work drives progress and shapes the world we live in. At a time when digital technologies and algorithms deeply influence our lives, Marcus Fontoura’s book offers timely insight into their dilemmas, complexities, and promises. I commend the author for his inclusive and engaging approach to unveiling the intricacies of technology for the lay reader. This book sits at the heart of today’s most pressing debates about the digital world.

Human Agency in a Digital World is an authoritative and engaging exploration of our digital world—from algorithmic efficiency and digital transformation to the interplay of physical systems and digital myths. Marcus Fontoura masterfully bridges deep technical insight with remarkable clarity, even making the quantum computing sections accessible and compelling. It stands as a significant contribution to the public’s understanding of these complex systems.

Information technology is having both a positive and negative impact on everyone on this planet. This book provides a fascinating overview of this effect by making knowledge of computer technology and its impact on society accessible to a broad segment of society.

What Marcus Fontoura has done with Human Agency in a Digital World is an intellectual tour-de-force illuminating both the origins of our digital transformation, the patterns behind these changes, and the way our lives might evolve to embrace what might initially be a more complicated future, but ultimately becomes a simpler form of abundance. The way Marcus draws analogies between diverse topics such as Daniel Kahneman’s work, computer programming, and neural networks exposes something rare: it shows us how the greatest systems thinkers who have been powering the transformation to the internet, mobile, the cloud, search, and now AI, have been actively fusing concepts from everywhere. In the same way large language models have slurped up all the information on the web, deep thinking distinguished engineers at the top technology companies have used the power of the web to explore concepts far and broad, fusing them back into products and technologies to benefit our lives. No where is that on better display than in this book. You will find yourself coming back over and over again to sections and chapters as the web of intellectual connections unveils itself.